67 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C.; total now 792; 2 more deaths (total of 16)

HEALTH Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Friday announced 67 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 792 cases in British Columbia.

Every health region in British Columbia has patients
with COVID-19: 391 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 262 are in the
Fraser Health region, 57 are in the Island Health region, 70 are in the
Interior Health region and 12 are in the Northern Heath region.

There have been two more deaths as a result of
COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal health region.

Two additional long-term care homes in the Fraser
Health region have staff with confirmed cases of COVID-19, The Harrison at Elim
Village and Chartwell Independent Living at Langley Gardens. In total, 11
long-term care homes in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions have
confirmed cases of COVID-19. Public health officials are providing support to
implement outbreak protocols.

Two hundred and seventy-five patients with COVID-19
have recovered and no longer have isolation requirements.

Additionally, of the total COVID-19 cases, 73
individuals are currently hospitalized, and the remaining people who have
tested positive for COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Dix and Henry said: “We are tracking the epidemic
curve closely here in B.C. We are also monitoring outbreaks in other nations to
guide our health system preparations and public health response.

“In the past few days, our upward path has been
less severe than other places, but we continue to see steady increases in community
transmission cases and continue to be concerned about outbreaks, which could
quickly grow and challenge our pandemic response.

“The evidence is clear: with every person in
British Columbia 100% committed to physical distancing, we can flatten the curve.
Over the next two weeks we must be united in this one goal.

“We strongly discourage any in-person gathering
of any size at this time, but rather encourage using the many online options we
have available today to stay connected to friends, family, customers and
clients.

“We know that our community and farmers markets
are an important source of fresh food. We are heartened that, with the support
of funding from the provincial government, many markets are shifting to an
online model. We remind market organizers that a public gathering order is in
place and physical distancing measures must be followed.

“Further, to reduce the potential for
transmission and ensure local, B.C.-grown food can continue to reach customers,
a public health officer order has been issued, effective immediately.

“All occasional/recurring/weekly events where
food and other merchandise is sold (e.g., markets, street markets, night
markets, Saturday markets or community markets) must only allow vendors that
sell food to be at these events. Vendors of non-food items and all other
merchandise are prohibited to sell at these events.

“Every day that we stay home and stay apart will bolster our COVID-19 response. This is how we will protect our health-care workers, whose job it is to care for us, our loved ones and ourselves.”

Statistics as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27

Cases:

* Total confirmed cases in B.C.: 792

* New cases since March 26, 2020: 67

* Hospitalized cases: 73

* COVID-19 related deaths: 16

* Recovered: 275

Confirmed cases by region:

* Vancouver Coastal Health: 391

* Fraser Health: 262

* Island Health: 57

* Interior Health: 70

* Northern Health: 12

Testing:

* Testing capacity in British Columbia has increased to approximately 3,500 tests per day.

* 34,561 individuals tested as of March 25, 2020.

* Across Canada, there are more than 10,000 tests per day.

* Testing is available for all who need it, but not everyone requires a test.* If you have no symptoms, mild symptoms or you are a returning traveller self-isolating at home, you do not require a test.

* For each of these situations, the public health advice remains the same, regardless of test results: self-isolate for 10 days to monitor for the development of symptoms or until your symptoms are completely gone.

* Those who have severe illness, require hospitalization, are residents of long-term care facilities or are health-care workers will continue to be tested.* Anyone part of an active investigation or outbreak cluster will be tested so they can be appropriately monitored.